Leaving the parks after fireworks

[autismgoesdisney]

This trip we will be relying solely on disney transportation as we are flying and not renting a car. Soooo question for you all....after fireworks, do you run to the buses or do you try to take your time and let the rush get out and then get out of the parks? Just curious if there is a way around the crowds waiting for the buses?

 

[disneybliss2]

We get right with it to get to the bus to our resort. We might take a leisurely approach to avoiding the mayhem but since we have young children who are waaay out past their bedtime and will most likely still be up early the next morning, I want to get back to my resort as soon as possible to get my little ones to bed. My husband and I each take a kid and walk rather quickly as best as we can straight to our resort bus. We don't dally around and we push our kids to walk faster and make sure to have ahold of them very securely. With all of those people, that's my greatest fear--one of my children getting separated from me. We find that once you make it to the theme park entrance gate, you're pretty much away from the enormous crowd because people are dispersing to different resort buses, so our goal is just to make it very quickly our the gates. We've never had any trouble getting aboard a bus right to our resort and we've always sat up by the hub watching Wishes at MK. I know there will be many who will say they ride rides, look in shops, etc. which I might would do also and just not fight the crowds if I wasn't set on getting my kids to bed because they were out so late already. We don't run by the way--too many people to do so, but we will walk quickly and try to dodge slow walkers. Good luck!

 

[dansdad]

We tried both ways this past October and found that finding a spot to sit down and people watch for half an hour or so worked much better than fighting the masses. But then again our DS is 10. I can imagine that the waiting game might not be the best option for younger kids that are way over tired.

 

[Never never been]

This trip we will be relying solely on disney transportation as we are flying and not renting a car. Soooo question for you all....after fireworks, do you run to the buses or do you try to take your time and let the rush get out and then get out of the parks? Just curious if there is a way around the crowds waiting for the buses?

I usually go through the gift shops as they are connected inside. That lets me get to the gate faster without fighting as many crowds, but it is still crowded.
Josh posted this solution the other day for really bad crowds:
The express exit is located along the pathway to Tomorrowland Terrace, just past the Plaza Restaurant. It will take you behind Main Street and let you out right next to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. This is where you want to be if your intention is to exit Magic Kingdom after the Fireworks. It’s still a hassle to get over there. In a perfect world, you’ll want to be on the Tomorrowland side of the Hub/Main Street so you can make your getaway over to the express exit location. it’s right there near the payphone/bathrooms. You’ll walk through a doorway that’s marked “cast members only” that will take you behind Main Street to a large, open area that’s easily walkable. It’s only available after extremely popular fireworks shows like the 4th of July and New Year’s Eve. It’s not a secret either, there’s a sign that says “exit” pointing to it and a lot of cast members with lighted pointers will be pointing toward it and yelling at people to head that way if they want to exit.

 

[SaraJayne]

After almost losing my 10 year old on her birthday trip last May after the fireworks, I will never, ever again walk out right after the fireworks. Even though she was right in front of me (with me holding onto her), people are pushing and shoving at you in all directions and it's very easy to get pushed apart.

I'm not one that typically panics in huge crowds, but I almost had a mini-meltdown in those few mins. It was the scariest thing I've ever had happen at Disney.

As soon as we could make a break to the side, we did and waited for the crowds to pass.

In our trip after that, we sat down and waited for the crowd to clear.

 

[nicki.momof3]

The express exit is located along the pathway to Tomorrowland Terrace, just past the Plaza Restaurant. It will take you behind Main Street and let you out right next to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant. .

There is the same exit right next to Crystal Palace that takes you behind the stores. They opened it up on 12/24 after the fireworks. We have used them on both sides of the street.

Either way it is always crazy geting out after the fireworks. We prefer to give our young kids a long nap during the day and stay about a hour later. That way the streets are not as packed.

My one wish is that teh MK had taxi's colse by like the other parks. There is nothing better than watching illuminations or fantasmic late and grabbing a $12 cab back to your resort.

 

[minnie mum]

We long ago gave up trying to exit immediately after any fireworks show. Just too crazy with all the peole rushing and pushing to get out of the parks. And since I'm in a wheelchair, this can be positively scary.

So we joined the lingerers. We actually try to head in the opposite direction of the crowds if we can. Maybe grab a snack or something to drink. Sit for a bit. Take night photos of some of the park landmarks as the park empties of people. Then slowly stroll/wheel towards the exit. We try to hit the exit at least 30 min. after the initial rush, and rarely have to wait for more than one or two buses at the most.

Now this may not work for those dealing with overtired and cranky little ones who are hours past their bedtime. But it works for us overtired and cranky big ones who are also past their bedtimes!

 

[jennyjinx3]

This trip we will be relying solely on disney transportation as we are flying and not renting a car. Soooo question for you all....after fireworks, do you run to the buses or do you try to take your time and let the rush get out and then get out of the parks? Just curious if there is a way around the crowds waiting for the buses?

We were there after wishes in September, had just arrived that day and I thought it was a good idea to go to MK at night to watch the Electrical Parade and fireworks. We were unprepared for how many people there actually were and decided to sit and wait on the curb afterwards for the throngs of people to move forward. It took a while and after the kids started melting we just bit it and joined the crowd. Luckily we didn't wait too too long for the monorail back to the Poly but all in all it was hectic!

P.S. OP we'll be at POR too, Sept 12 - 21 2012

 

[lotus14]

That's so tough! On our last trip, DH and I walked slowly out and even browsed the gift shops for awhile. When we got to the POP stop, the line was HUGE and we must have waited for at least 7 buses and over an hour to get on. We were SO glad the kids weren't with us. With tired kids, I would try to watch near the gates and run like hell to the bus or you could be waiting a very long time!

 

[dprincessmom]

If it's not EMHs then we wait for 15 minutes or so then slowly make our way down Main Street browsing in the shops. The last stop of the night is usually the confectionary. My daughter and I get a snack but rarely eat them that night (she's tired and the sugar rush isn't needed). By the time we get back to the bus stop we are on one of the last ones back to POR/FQ and headed home.

 

[DisneyAngie45]

At MK, we did leave after the fireworks, but we didn't rush up Main Street. We just walked at a leisurely pace, and made it to the TTC in time. On our last MK day though, it was pretty hectic since the monorail broke down, and we had to wait 8 buses to get where we needed to go, but you should be fine if there's no breakdowns.

 

[TerriB]

Good info. Thanks for sharing everyone.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

That's so tough! On our last trip, DH and I walked slowly out and even browsed the gift shops for awhile. When we got to the POP stop, the line was HUGE and we must have waited for at least 7 buses and over an hour to get on. We were SO glad the kids weren't with us. With tired kids, I would try to watch near the gates and run like hell to the bus or you could be waiting a very long time!

Lol, this is what we do and we've always been successful!

 

[Geoff_M]

We're content to wait for the crowds to depart before we head to the bus depots. Usually, we will "shop" our way out of the park. One time we were literally the last guests to exit Epcot for the day. We shopped for a while and then our older kids had a nice long conversation with a manager from Guest Relations about working at Disney. A couple of times during the talk, we'd see some roaming CMs with radios (I assume they were probably "sweeping" the park) who'd spot us, stop, and then transmit a message on their radio. There was no effort to hurry us to the exits.

 

[Dan Murphy]

In all my trips over the years, I left one time right after. Not sure why I did, I always had, and still do, take my time leaving. That once was a nightmare.

 

[raidermatt]

We wait. Once it thins out enough to be able to walk, we will head to the shops. Often we'll get some ice cream and find a bench/curb/table somewhere and sit down. By the time we finish it, we can usually walk out and catch the next bus to wherever we are going.

We get back to the hotel a little later than if we left 30 minutes earlier, but not much.

 

[BarbieGal457]

I always wait. That's the time I try to do some shopping or finally stop and eat ice cream! Once I waited so long I was lucky enough to see the Kiss Goodnight. I just like not getting involved in the massive crunch!

 

[W.E.D.]

We always wait. At EPCOT it turns into a very pleasant stroll out if you let the crush of people thin out a little bit.

 

[Geoff_M]

We always wait. At EPCOT it turns into a very pleasant stroll out if you let the crush of people thin out a little bit.

Plus, you get to see them do the Inferno Barge "blow-off" if you hang around long enough!

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

Plus, you get them see them do the Inferno Barge "blow-off" if you hang around long enough!

This is very cool! How long did you wait around to see this?